Harlem boys choir hopes city will reconsider eviction

January 30, 2006

NEW YORK (AP) -- There have been many moments of greatness over the decades for the Boys Choir of Harlem -- concerts around the world, audiences including Nelson Mandela and Pope John Paul II. But the choir has also struggled in recent years with financial troubles, and management issues in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal. Now, with the organization up to $5 million in debt, the choir is facing the loss of its home as well. The city has told the boys choir to leave the public school where it has operated rent-free since 1993. Citing concern about the group's financial and management difficulties, the Department of Education sent a letter last month saying the choir must vacate its office space by Jan. 31. The children may still be able to use the building for after-school rehearsal. But as a partner in the school itself, city officials say the choir's administration isn't living up to its responsibilities. Boys choir supporters, including former Mayor David Dinkins and Rep. Charles Rangel, are asking the city to reconsider, or at least give it until the end of the school year to move. They have been meeting with city officials, and made a presentation for a plan to improve the situation. "We have, in hand, pledges, commitments exceeding a million dollars, and more forthcoming, but that will only be so if it appears that the city is willing to continue this partnership which has been so successful," Dinkins said. The city isn't backing down. Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott said the education department's top priority is its responsibility to the more than 600 students in the school, I.S./H.S. M469, otherwise known as the Choir Academy of Harlem.